"I know," he replied. "Deidre, is there anything else?"
She was quiet for a moment. Her hands left his. He heard her stir and shift. Gabriel shifted to see her. Her hair was mussed.
"Yes," the word was barely audible. "We made a deal."
"Who?" he asked, unwilling to tell her that he already knew the answer to this question.
"Deidre and I did. In Hell. She challenged me to win you over in a week like she did."
"What was at stake?" He felt cold. By the tremor in her voice, she knew she'd lost this one as well as he did.
"Oh, only my soul," she replied with a half-laugh. "We were both a little emotional at the time. I didn't realize … anything."
Gabriel rose and paced. It was worse than he thought. The firm assertion of Darkyn's mate that she bore no one ill-will made more sense when he understood why she said it. She may not, but Darkyn … what would he do to get the soul of past-Death? The Dark One had let it go once as part of a deal. He wasn't going to let her go again.
"At least I can't kill you," he mused. "We'll keep you safe until we can return home. He can't go there."
"Does it really matter? You can't ever love me."
He wanted to agree out of anger but couldn't. The truth was he never fully stopped, because he couldn't.
"I'll always take care of you," he replied. It was better for both Deidres if he worked to ensure his mate never died-dead. "We need some time to … deal with all of this."
There might one day be a way to win her soul back. If he kept her alive and well and his eye on any potential opportunity to rake the Dark One over the coals, he'd do it.
Never mind that they bartered over his love like some sort of prize to be won at a fair. Never mind both women had not only betrayed his trust to make deals with Darkyn, but would soon both have their souls owned by the Dark One.
Near the boiling point, Gabriel drew a deep breath.
"I'll be hunting demons today," he said, needing a release for his fury. "Stay at the fortress."
Deidre said nothing. He left, barely able to see straight let alone think straight.
When he was done killing demons, he'd interrogate the death dealer he had sitting in a cell at the bottom of the fortress. He wanted the dealer scared but not dead, and right now, he didn't think he'd be able to handle a traitor without ripping off his head.